The Judiciary Police (PJ) announced in a statement on Friday that a 72-year-old local woman is believed to have committed suicide in a public toilet in Praça de Luís de Camões on Thursday.
According to the statement, the Judiciary Police were notified by the Fire Services Bureau (CB) and the Public Security Police (PSP) separately at 1:25 p.m. on Thursday about the apparent suicide.
The statement noted that the firefighters arrived at the scene and broke open the door of a toilet cubicle, where they found the unconscious victim, so they rushed her to hospital for emergency treatment.
The statement did not reveal how the victim committed suicide or which hospital she was admitted to for emergency treatment.
The statement said that, according to medical staff members of the hospital, the victim did not have any superficial injuries other than hypoxia* upon arriving at the hospital on Thursday, adding that initially the victim’s heartbeat was restored after emergency treatment, even though she needed to be intubated to assist her breathing and her life was in danger.
At 5:18 p.m. on Friday, the police were informed by the hospital that the woman passed away after life-saving treatment had failed, according to the statement, which noted that a preliminary examination of the body showed that no suspicious or possible criminal-induced injuries were found on the deceased. The exact cause of death was pending the outcome of a forensic examination.
Initially, the case had been classified as a dead body found at the time the statement was released on Friday.
Those needing support are urged to phone Caritas Macau’s Life Hope Hotline on 2852 5222 (Chinese) or Expat Life Hotline at 2852 5777 (English) or the Social Welfare Bureau’s (IAS) 24-hour Counselling Hotline at 2826 1126.
* According to Wiktionary, a condition in which tissues (especially the blood) are deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen.
This poster from the Caritas Macau website shows its Expat Life Hope Hotline 2852 5777 for Macau’s non-local communities.
